Fowler and Nando set for India

Former Liverpool strikers Robbie Fowler and Fernando Morientes have reportedly agreed to join a revamped Indian football league.

The format, which hopes to replicate the cricketing success of the Indian Premier League (IPL), is apparently attracting stars such as Fabio Cannavaro, Juan Pablo Sorin and Robert Pires.

Fowler has travelled widely since finishing his second stint at Anfield, playing in Australia and Thailand.

Morientes, meanwhile, is set for a comeback after announcing his retirement from the game in 2010 following a year with Marseille.

About 30 players and six coaches from around the world will be auctioned off in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata for the league, to be staged between 25 February and 8 April.

"We have signed seven icon players for the auction and each of the six teams will have one such player with a $600,000 salary cap," said Bhaswar Goswami, the executive director of Celebrity Management Group.

Cricket's IPL excited fans with its Twenty20 format, player auctions and post-game parties. Now football is poised for a similar makeover.

"The league is modelled on Major League Soccer and of course IPL," Goswami added.

"We saw the hype and buzz around the players' auction in IPL and feel it can be an equal success. It's a brilliant concept. We expect owners to make profit much earlier than the IPL franchises.

"We are also in the process of finalising television rights for live broadcast across south-east Asia."